Elements and assembly for binding a boot to a gliding board or a rolling board

ABSTRACT

Retention element for binding an article of footwear to a gliding board or to a rolling board, such as an ski or snowboard binding. The retention element includes a body mounted on a base, the base being slidable along a longitudinal guide rail. Between the two subassemblies which include the base and the guide rail, a flexible blade is fixed to one of the subassemblies. The blade includes housings longitudinally spaced apart for an anchoring pin affixed to the other subassembly, and a maneuvering member, moveable between two operating positions, cooperates with the blade to engage or disengage one of the housings of the blade with the anchoring pin.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of French PatentApplication No. 06.06220, filed on Jul. 7, 2006, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an element for binding an article of footwear,such as a boot or a shoe, to a gliding board, such as a ski orsnowboard, or to a rolling board, such as a skateboard. The inventionalso relates to a binding assembly for such footwear, as well as to agliding board assembly or a rolling board assembly including such abinding element.

2. Description of Background and Other Information

In the field of alpine skiing, it is known to retain the boot on thegliding board with a retaining assembly, or bindings, which includes twoelements, front and rear, for retaining the boot. Conventionally, theretaining elements are of the releasable type in that they release theboot in case of excessive pressure. However, there are also retainingelements of the non-releasable type, which are especially used on shortskis or snowboards.

In order to adapt the retaining assembly to boots having differentlengths, at least one of the retaining elements is slidably mountedalong a longitudinal guide rail, and a locking member makes it possibleto immobilize the body of the retaining element in a predeterminedlongitudinal position. For the rear retaining element, the body can bedisplaced from this position against the pretensioned force of a spring,known as a return spring. This function ensures that the boot is clampedand enables the ski to flex more freely.

For rental bindings, in particular, it is known to use positionadjustment mechanisms having a wide adjustment range and an easilyaccessible and user-friendly locking member.

Patent documents FR 2 683 457, FR 2 835 759, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,335,and U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,704 describe such modes of construction. Thesedevices yield good results in terms of operation, but their structure iscomplex. Indeed, they include numerous parts, which makes them expensiveto manufacture.

The construction of a retaining element such as disclosed in the patentdocuments DE 32 01 319 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,424 is also known. A pinis mounted on a flexible blade, referred to as a leaf spring, associatedwith the body of the retaining element and is provided to be engaged inone of the perforations of a graduated strip mounted in a base plate.The blade is bent or locked by means of a lever, which is pivotallymounted with respect to the body. However, the drawback of thisconstruction is that the operating lever is exposed to external impactsor shocks. Furthermore, when the boot is strongly pressed toward thefront or when there is an impact/shock, the blade, which supports thepin, is strongly biased to buckling. The retaining element is notoptimally retained in position under such conditions.

Another mode of construction is disclosed in patent document FR 2 638653. The body is pivotally mounted with respect to the guide rail, andits pivoting is controlled by a pivoting lock. However, this devicerequires a significant amount of space height-wise to enable thepivoting effect.

In view of the aforementioned prior art, there is a need for an improvedretaining element whose position adjustment device is simplifiedcompared to existing devices, and which has a structure that is easierand more cost-effective to manufacture. There is also a need for aretaining element whose construction yields a better performance,especially a construction in which each of the elements would not besubject to buckling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing objects and advantages, which will be raised from thefollowing description, are achieved by the retaining element of theinvention.

The retaining element of the invention includes a body mounted on abase, the base being slidable along a longitudinal guide rail.

A flexible blade is fixed, at least over a portion of its length, to oneof the sub-assemblies which includes the base and the guide rail. Theblade has longitudinally spaced-apart housings provided for an anchoringpin affixed to the other sub-assembly, and a manipulable member, movablebetween two positions, and which cooperates with the blade in order toengage one of the housings of the blade on the anchoring pin or torelease the blade.

In a particular embodiment, the manipulable member causes the housingsof the blade to move vertically, and it is mounted on the sub-assemblywhich affixedly supports the anchoring pin. Indeed, the anchoring pin isaffixed to the base, whereas the blade is fixed to the guide rail.

In a particular embodiment, a device having a succession of hard andsoft points between the guide rail and the base, including a series ofwaves on the guide rail and a detent on the base, creates a successionof hard and soft points during the displacement of the base.

In a particular embodiment, the manipulable member is a slide, slidablymounted with respect to the base, the slide having at least one pad forretaining the blade on the pin and at least one supporting pad on theblade. The retaining pad and the supporting pad make it possible todefine, with respect to the anchoring pin, two active positions forlocking and unlocking, so that in the active locking position, theretaining pads are located at the level of the pin, and in the activeunlocking position of the slide, the supporting pads are at the samelevel as the pin.

Finally, to make it easier and more reliable to use, a second devicewith hard points, positioned between the slide and the base, marks theactive position for unlocking the slide by blocking the latter'sposition, and a blocking device retains the slide in its active lockingposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood from the detailed descriptionthat follows, with reference to the annexed drawings, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a retaining element according to a non-limiting embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the base and the guide rail of the elementof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 relates to a detail of the construction;

FIG. 4 shows the slide and the base in the upside down position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the retaining element, with theslide in the locking position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to the previous one, with the slide in theunlocking position

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a portion of an alpine ski 1 on which a retaining element 2is mounted. Here, the element is a front retaining element for a boot,and is of the releasable type. This is non-limiting, and the inventionalso applies to retaining elements of different constructions. Inparticular, the front retaining element can, for example, have arotatable body or be non-releasable. Conventionally, the retainingelement 2 is provided to be associated with a rear retaining element,which is not shown in the drawing, although the retaining element of theinvention could also be a rear element.

The element 2 includes a body 3 having a retaining jaw 4. The body ismounted on a base 6. The rear portion of the base forms the support, orsupport element, on which the front of the boot rests. The base 6 canslide along a longitudinal guide rail 7, which is assembled to the skiby any appropriate means known to those skilled in the art, such ashaving been screwed, glued, or welded to the ski. The guide rail canalso be integrated into the ski structure. Conventionally, the guiderail includes two side rails 7 a and 7 b under which pads for retainingthe base are engaged in order to guide and vertically retain the base.Other constructions to guide the base are also possible within the scopeof the invention. The base forms a unitary piece to which the body isassembled. This is non-limiting, and other modes of construction arepossible within the scope of the invention. For example, the body couldbe mounted on a baseplate which itself is assembled to a counter-guiderail provided to cooperate with the guide rail 7.

In a particular embodiment, the guide rail is open toward the front soas to enable the base to engage and disengage.

A blade 10 and an anchoring pin 11 immobilize the retaining element withrespect to the guide rail. According to the illustrated embodiment, theblade extends into the median portion of the guide rail, between therails 7 a and 7 b of the guide rail. The blade is fixed to the guiderail toward one of its ends and, toward its other end, the blade hasperforations or recesses 14 distributed over a portion of its length.Under the blade, and in particular in the area of the perforations 14,the guide rail has a longitudinal recess, which extends between the tworails. The blade can be positioned in this recess under a bending force.

The anchoring pin 11 is affixed to the base 6. It is assembled by anyappropriate means and can, for example, be force-fitted, assembled bymeans of screws, glue, or made as a unitary element with the base.

The dimensions of the perforations 14 are equal to or greater than thecross-sectional dimensions of the anchoring pin 11 so as to enable theanchoring pin to be received easily within each of the perforations.Housings other than perforations are also possible to ensure the bladeand the anchoring pin cooperate with one another.

The blade is fixed to the guide rail by any appropriate means, forexample, with a rivet 15, a screw, or a retaining pin. A pin or a foldof the blade, forming a sort of hook that is engageable in housing forreceiving the guide rail, is also within the scope of the invention.Other fastening means are also possible. In a particular embodiment, theend of the blade, which is fastened to the guide rail, is selected so asto be biased in tension when the boot is engaged between the tworetaining elements. In the example shown, it is the end of the bladelocated on the side of the rear retaining element, which is fixed to theguide rail.

The other end of the blade can be free. In the example shown, however,the blade has, on this side, a hook-shaped end 16 that is engaged in anopening of the guide rail. The end 16 has a reduced width compared tothe remainder of the blade. The hook retains the blade in case arearwardly directed impact force is exerted on the retaining element.The hook protects the blade from a buckling bias, which would occur, forexample, if an impact were to be exerted toward the rear of theretaining element if there were no boot. The hook also helps to maintainthe end of the blade in an elevated position with respect to the bottomof the median recess of the guide rail and forms a guiding track whenthe base engages the blade. This is further described below.

According to the invention, the blade can be displaced between twooperating positions: an engagement position, in which the anchoring pinis engaged in one of the blade perforations, or recesses, and a releaseposition, in which the blade is moved out of reach of the anchoring pin.The anchoring pin is affixed to the base and can only move with thebase, along the longitudinal direction defined by the guide rail.

The blade is a flexible element biased in flexion by a manipulablemember. The blade is made of metal, for example. A stainless steel bladehaving a thickness of less than 1 millimeter, and, in a particularembodiment, equal to 0.8 millimeters, yields good results.Alternatively, other materials can be used, such as a compositematerial. As long as the blade is flexible at least in the area of theperforations 14, the thickness and /or width of the blade can vary, orthe blade can be made of several parts. Thus, by bending the blade inthe area of the perforations, the blade can be engaged with theanchoring pin 11 and, thus, to immobilize the base with respect to theguide rail, or to disengage it so as to longitudinally release the base.The term “bending” is used here in its broadest sense, meaning any forceexerted on the blade, which deforms it in flexion.

In a particular embodiment, a device with a succession of hard and softpoints has been provided to facilitate the positioning of the base withrespect to the perforations 14 of the blade 10. At each of the softpoints, the anchoring pin is placed opposite a perforation of the blade,which means that the blade can be engaged with the anchoring pin withoutundue trial and error. As shown in FIG. 3, the rail 7 a has a series ofprojecting waves 19, which cooperate with the detent 21 of a pad 20 forretaining the base. The waves and the perforations 14 of the bladecoincide. Each time the detent 21 is within the trough, or hollowportion, of a wave, such position corresponds to a soft point; theanchoring pin 11 of the base faces one of the perforations 14 of theblade 10. Each time the detent passes over the peak of a wave, the usercan feel a hard point that must be passed over. This facilitates thelocking of the anchoring pin on the blade as well as enablespre-positioning the front retaining element when the blade isdisengaged. Other constructions are possible within the scope of theinvention. The waves could, for example, be made on the inside of therails 7 a, 7 b or on the base, and the detent could be made on the guiderail. The detent could also be made at the end of an elastic blade,which is made in the body of the guide rail or of the base.

A maneuvering member 22 is used to maneuver the blade between its twooperating positions. In this embodiment, the maneuvering member isconnected to the sub-assembly, which supports the anchoring pin, in thiscase the base, so that the anchoring pin is locked with respect to theblade in the same way, whatever the position of the base.

In the embodiment shown, a slide 22 is slidably mounted relative to thebase 6 along the longitudinal direction defined by the guide rail. It ismade of a maneuvering body 22 a and a maneuvering handle 22 b. Themaneuvering element 22 a is guided relative to the base. Advantageously,the maneuvering body has an oblong slot 22 c traversed by the anchoringpin 11, these elements forming a guiding assembly for the slide. Theslide 22 is movable between two active positions: a locking positionwhere the maneuvering element 22 a is brought into the base and themaneuvering handle 22 b is engaged in a housing of the base, and anunlocking position where the maneuvering handle 22 b and a portion ofits maneuvering body 22 a are disengaged from the base toward the rearof the base. The slide is shown in the active locking position in FIG. 1and in the active unlocking position in FIG. 2. In the locking position,the maneuvering handle 22 b is protected by the boot during use, i.e.,while the user glides on his/her gliding board or rolling board.

FIG. 4 shows the slide 22 and the base 6 in the upside down position. Onthe bottom, the slide 22 has two pairs of pads 25 a, 25 b, and 26 a, 26b. The pads 25 a, 25 b are structures that retain the blade. They haveedges that extend under the blade along each of its lateral edges, so asto flatten the blade against the maneuvering body of the slide. The pads25 a, 25 b are located in the area of the anchoring pin 11, in theposition for locking position of the slide, that is, when themaneuvering handle is engaged in the housing of the base. Thus, in theposition for locking the slide 22, the retaining pads 25 a, 25 b keepthe blade 10 against the pin 11, the pin being engaged in one of theperforations 14. FIG. 5 shows the pin 11, the slide 22, and the blade 10in this position. Alternatively, there could be only one retaining pad.

The pads 26 a, 26 b are supporting pads. They are located forward fromthe retaining pads, between the blade and the maneuvering body of theslide. They are provided to bend the blade between its end 16 and thearea, which is taken by the retaining pads 25 a, 25 b, and to move theblade away from the maneuvering body of the slide. Thus, when the slide22 is in the unlocking position, the support pads 26 a, 26 b are at thelevel of the anchoring pin 11 and keep the blade 10 disengaged from theanchoring pin. The body of the retaining element can thus be displacedalong the guide rail 7 until reaching a new position. During thisdisplacement, the pads slide along the blade, and in particular, thesupport pads keep the blade completely disengaged from the anchoring pin11. FIG. 6 shows the anchoring pin, the blade, and the slide in thisposition for disengaging the base 6.

In the position for locking the slide, the support pads 26 a, 26 b arein a forward position, toward the end 16 of the blade.

Instead of two support pads 26 a, 26 b, there could be only one supportpad. Alternatively, the slide could open at the front of the base. Inthis case, the position of the pads 25 a, 25 b, 26 a, 26 b, would bereversed.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the end 16 of theblade is inclined and has a reduced width compared to the remainder ofthe blade. In this way, by a ramp effect, the end 16 makes it easier forthe retaining pads 25 a, 25 b to engage under the blade and for thesupport pads 26 a, 26 b to engage on the blade when the base 6 is beingpositioned on the guide rail 7.

During the displacement of the retaining element along the guide rail, arelatively substantial friction occurs between the slide and the blade.To prevent this friction from displacing the slide relative to the base6, the slide can be maintained in the unlocking position by a hard pointdevice. As shown in the drawings, the maneuvering body of the slide hastwo lateral detents 28 a, 28 b, each of which cooperates with a smallhollow housing of the base formed, for example, by a wall portion 29 a,29 b. Other constructions are also within the scope of the invention. Inthis way, the slide is maintained in the unlocking position during allthe displacements of the base along the guide rail.

Also, according to a particular embodiment, a blocking device isprovided to prevent an ill-timed opening of the slide when it is in thelocking position. According to the embodiment shown, this deviceincludes, for the slide, a flexible tongue 30 equipped with a stophousing 31 that cooperates with a tooth 32 of the base, the, housing andthe tooth being oriented along a transverse direction with respect tothe longitudinal direction defined by the guide rail. To release theslide, the tongue 30 is laterally bent by means of a manipulable button34 located in the vicinity of the maneuvering handle 22 b. Therefore, toopen the slide 22, the movements of the manipulable button 34 andmaneuvering handle 22 b are carried out in clearly distinct directions.

When the slide closes, the tooth 32 automatically engages in the stophousing 31 by a ramp effect. Other constructions are possible within thescope of the invention. For example, the position of the tooth andhousing can be reversed.

The invention is not limited to a front retaining element, but alsoapplies to a rear retaining element, and more generally, to any elementfor retaining a boot on a gliding board or rolling board.

The invention also applies to a retaining assembly including two frontand rear elements. For such a construction, two independent blades areused, each being fixed to the guide rail, or a common blade is used forthe two retaining elements, the blade being fixed to the guide railtoward one end or between the two retaining elements.

The device which has just been described has, in contrast with the priorart, a small number of parts and a simple structure. Most of such partscan be made by molding plastic material, which makes it easy tointegrate the elements necessary to carrying out the various auxiliaryfunctions, especially pre-positioning, maintaining the slide in theunlocking position, and blocking the slide in the locking position.

The present description is only given by way of example and otherembodiments of the invention could be adopted without leaving the scopethereof. In particular, the position of the anchoring pin and of theblade could be reversed, which means a pin can be affixed to the guiderail, a blade movably mounted on the base of the retaining element, anda maneuvering member of the blade mounted on the guide rail.Alternatively, the maneuvering member could have a shape other than thatof a slidable slide. For example, the maneuvering member could be apivotable lever, articulated about a vertical or transverse axis, or amaneuvering member could be constructed with a handle connected to themaneuvering body by means of a mechanical connection, for example, adouble guiding ramp. Other modes of construction are also possiblewithin the scope of the invention.

1. An element for binding an article of footwear to a gliding board or arolling board, said binding element comprising: a first subassemblycomprising a base and a body mounted on the base; a second subassemblycomprising a longitudinal guide rail, the base of the first subassemblybeing slidable along the longitudinal guide rail of the secondsubassembly; a blade fixed to one of the first and second subassemblies,said blade having a length and longitudinally spaced apart housings,said blade being flexible over at least a portion of said length; ananchoring pin affixed to another of the first and second subassemblies amaneuvering member moveable between two operating positions, saidmaneuvering member cooperating with the blade selectively to engage anyof a plurality of the housings of the blade with the anchoring pin or todisengage the blade.
 2. A binding element according to claim 1, wherein:the maneuvering member is movable to cause the housings of the blade tomove vertically.
 3. A binding element according to claim 1, wherein: themaneuvering member is mounted on said another of the first and secondsubassemblies.
 4. A binding element according to claim 1, wherein: theblade is fixed to the guide rail and the anchoring pin is affixed to thebase.
 5. A binding element according to claim 1, further comprising: asuccession of hard points and soft points between the guide rail and thebase, thereby creating a succession of hard points and soft pointsduring sliding of the base along the slide rail.
 6. A binding elementaccording to claim 5, wherein: said succession of hard points and softpoints comprises a series of waves on the guide rail and a detent on thebase.
 7. A binding element according to claim 4, wherein: themaneuvering member is a slide slidably mounted with respect to the base.8. A binding element according to claim 7, wherein: the slide includesat least one pad to retain the blade on the pin and at least one supportpad on the blade.
 9. A binding element according to claim 8, wherein:the slide includes two active positions, said two active positionsconsisting of an active locking position and an active unlockingposition; in the active locking position the at least one retaining padis in an area of the pin; in the active unlocking position the at leastone support pad is in an area of the pin.
 10. A binding elementaccording to claim 7, wherein: a hard point device marks an activeposition for unlocking the slide.
 11. A binding element according toclaim 7, further comprising: a blocking device keeping the slide in anactive locking position.
 12. An assembly for retaining an article offootwear on a gliding board or rolling board, said assembly comprising:a binding element for the article of footwear, said binding elementcomprising: a first subassembly comprising a base and a body mounted onthe base; a second subassembly comprising a longitudinal guide rail, thebase of the first subassembly being slidable along the longitudinalguide rail of the second subassembly; a blade fixed to one of the firstand second subassemblies, said blade having a length and longitudinallyspaced apart housings, said blade being flexible over at least a portionof said length; an anchoring pin affixed to another of the first andsecond subassemblies a maneuvering member moveable between two operatingpositions, said maneuvering member cooperating with the bladeselectively to engage any of a plurality of the housings of the bladewith the anchoring pin or to disengage the blade.
 13. A footwearretaining assembly according to claim 12, wherein: the binding elementis a front binding element for engagement with a front end of thearticle of footwear.
 14. A gliding or rolling sport assembly comprising:a gliding board or rolling board; an element for binding an article offootwear to the gliding board or rolling board, said binding elementcomprising: a first subassembly comprising a base and a body mounted onthe base; a second subassembly comprising a longitudinal guide rail, thebase of the first subassembly being slidable along the longitudinalguide rail of the second subassembly; a blade fixed to one of the firstand second subassemblies, said blade having a length and longitudinallyspaced apart housings, said blade being flexible over at least a portionof said length; an anchoring pin affixed to another of the first andsecond subassemblies a maneuvering member moveable between two operatingpositions, said maneuvering member cooperating with the bladeselectively to engage any of a plurality of the housings of the bladewith the anchoring pin or to disengage the blade.